Bays, Panthers advance at Class D volleyball district

Friday

Nov 2, 2012 at 10:37 AM

By Rob Roossports@sooeveningnews.com

CEDARVILLE — Brimley and Pickford advanced in straight games on the opening night of Class D volleyball district 124 Tuesday.

The Bays defeated the host Cedarville Trojans 25-12, 25-22, 25-11. Tabitha Graham turned in 15 kills and nine digs for the Bays. Kourtney St. Peter had five kills and nine digs, while Alyssa Recla had 10 kills and Anna Carrick had 15 assists. Clarissa Kelly had 13 assists and Taylor Mills had six digs.

The defending district champion Bays gradually pulled away from the Trojans in the first two games, and then capped off the match with a convincing win in game 3.

"We have the hitters, but we need to stay consistent with our passing," Brimley coach Lisa Corbiere said. "We've had a lot of games this year where we've had too many hitting errors. Tonight we focused more on keeping it in play, and I thought the girls did a good job with that."

Monica Krackowski served three aces for the Trojans. Nicole Huffman had four kills, while Amy Knapp and Alexis Barr were blocks leaders for the Trojans.

"We spent a lot of time on defense this season and that is what we do best," Cedarville coach Frank Arnold said. "Usually that is enough to keep us in matches. We don't have consistent offense yet, but Brimley does and that was the difference. They have some players who are used to playing in bigger matches and are not afraid to swing away. We're still working getting the kids to have confidence in themselves and just go up and wail away at the ball."

Brimley faces Rudyard, while Pickford plays DeTour in district semifinals Thursday. The championship match is set for 7 p.m. Friday.